Change
by BlackWolfHellHound
Summary: Turned this into a story after all.  VaanxPenelo.  R&R please! Free cookies to those who review!
1. Chapter 1

Change

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy XII

**Hi people ok this is my first ever fic so be nice! Criticism accepted as well as praise. Please, tell me honestly what you think. Enjoy!**

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"I don't know what I'd do… if you weren't here." Those words struck him like the full-swing kick of a chocobo. Even as he was apologising to her swiftly retreating back, even as he spoke with Old Dalan, he knew something between them would never be the same again. He didn't know if that change would be a good thing or a bad thing, but only one thing was on his mind as he descended into the damp darkness of the Garamsythe Waterways. Penelo.

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**I know it's short but I'm thinking of adding more chapters. But only if you want me to. Review n tell me what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy. **

**Ok, hi people! Thanks to those who reviewed before! (All three of them.) I promised that if I added to it I would make it longer. So here you go! Enjoy!**

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Questing Thief

He was still pondering the change between him and Penelo as he strolled through the dank halls of the Garamsythe Waterway. He had almost thought of the answer when he was distracted by a large group of rats, about half a dozen, came into view. 'Well' he thought, 'it's time to live up to my title.' With that, he began setting about them and cutting them down. One of them managed to get a bite at him but it only minorly grazed his arm, drawing little blood, so he didn't think it worth bothering about. He finished up cleaning his dagger and continued walking.

He soon stopped. He could almost swear that he'd heard an odd sound, like metal clanking in a rhythmical sound, almost like a man in amour. ''But then,' he thought, 'who would come down here and run around in armour?' He thought about that for a moment, then suddenly thought, 'Imperials!' Ducking back into the shadows, he kept a watch out and wondered if they had somehow found out about his little escapade. How could they have? He'd only openly told Old Dalan, and had only hinted at his actions to Penelo. Could Penelo have worked it out then told the Imperials? No, there was no way she would do that, even if she had worked it out. And there was no way Old Dalan would have, either. So if neither of them had told the Imperials, then why were they down here? Just at that moment Vaan spotted a large man, easily six feet tall, with short, brown hair and an absolutely huge two-handed sword on his back. 'Now who the hell could that be?' Vaan wondered. 'He isn't wearing Imperial armour…' By this time the man had disappeared round a corner, and the noise of clanking armour faded, so Vaan decided it was safe to move.

The rest of his journey through those damp, dark tunnels went surprisingly well, considering how difficult Old Dalan told him this would be. Nothing but a few rats, and some steelings. Ye Gods, how he hated those steelings. In the dark, he could only make them out when they were right on top of him. Their bites were not dangerous, but they hurt. A lot. The rat bites were bad enough. The one on his arm was starting to bother him, so he took a small potion bottle out of his pouch and rubbed it into the cut on his arm as he approached the stairs Old Dalan had told him would lead him up to the palace. 'Damn,' he thought, looking up the staircase. 'That's a lot of stairs. Well, might as well get going.'

The stairs alone took him about fifteen minutes to climb. When he got to the top, his legs were shaking, so he took a minute to catch his breath. In that time, he looked around the room the stairs had led to. It was quite a small room, with a door in one corner. Opposite from the door was a large blue crystal that made him feel refreshed when he touched it. He had always wondered how much it was worth, but it was too heavy to lift, and whenever he tried to chip a piece off he would have to buy a new dagger. Eventually he got tired of spending more gil every time he wanted to make some. There was a strange green jar in another corner of the room, next to the trapdoor he had just come through. He opened it, and found a map of what appeared to be the palace. 'Well that'll be useful'.

He went through the door, and found himself in a small corridor with another door in front of him and a larger room off to his left, with a staircase at the end of it. There were also a large number of people he took to be palace servants. Saying little to them, he managed to pick up a few goodies that people had left "lying around" without them noticing. He went towards the staircase, and was stopped by the guard standing there, who told him he would be called when needed. He walked back a little, when a Seeq called out to him, offering to help him get past the guard. Intrigued, he went over. "I tell you what," the Seeq said to him, "you call the guard over, and I'll distract him so you can get up the stairs" Vaan didn't think that would work, but hey, it was worth a shot. He shouted "Hey Bucket head!" at the guard, and was rewarded with the guard coming over towards him and the Seeq. "Now's your chance, go!" the Seeq urged him. Not one to waste an opportunity, Vaan walked to the side of the guard, and when he was sure the guard couldn't see, ran up the stairs and through the door at the top.

What he saw in front of him was a branch going off left and right, with the corridor stretching on before him. 'Wow' he thought, 'Wait till I tell Penelo about this! But first I gotta get something to show her. What was it Dalan said? Oh yeah, I gotta find the signet that "yearns the sunstone's strength". Well, that looks like one right there.' Vaan ran over to the carving on the floor. It looked like an intricate design of a hawk or an eagle, but he wasn't sure. 'Maybe Penelo would know,' he thought. 'She's so clever. I'll even admit she's almost as clever as me. And she's really beautiful. I'm really lucky that she wants to be friends with me. I wonder how far she'd want to go in our relationship. Geez, what am I thinking? I can't zone out here…' He held the sunstone over the carving. Nothing happened. 'Damn' he thought 'this is going to be harder than I thought.'

He snuck around that floor for a while, discovering that the corridors were all interconnected, like a grid. He also discovered another design on the floor, but he couldn't make hide or hair of it. He thought to himself 'might as well try anyway,' and held the sunstone out over it. The design on the floor suddenly flashed. 'What the?!' The sunstone went dark, reverting back to its uncharged state. 'Dammit this thing better not be broken, or I'm gonna get annoyed.' With nothing to do save try and find out whether anything had changed, he noticed a faint, greenish light coming from behind a sort of grille in the wall. 'Could that be it?' he wondered. He then noticed a guard was in his way. 'Damn. How am I going to get past him?' He ran back the way he had come, back to the next intersection up from where the guard blocking his way was. He shouted, "Hey! Over here!" then ran back to a good hiding place. He could hear the guard following, making a huge racket in all his armour. The sound stopped. Looking out from his hiding place, Vaan saw the guard had stopped, and was standing with his back to Vaan. Vaan ran back round to where the guard had been originally standing, and then ran up to the odd green light. The whole section of the wall slid up, allowing Vaan entry. Once he had stepped through, the wall slammed back down again. "Hey, watch it!" he said. The wall didn't move. "Hm. Guess it's not giving me much choice." He was in a small room, which cut off to the left and ended in a wall made of gold with two arches set in the work. 'Hmm. Something looks odd about that arch.' He walked up to it and pushed it. Nothing happened. 'There's gotta be a switch or something around here that opens this,' he thought. 'Hey, there it is!' He ran over to the switch in the wall and pressed it. He heard a mechanical click, and then the golden arch on the left disappeared into the floor. 'All right!' He thought. 'Wait till Penelo sees what I get from here…' He walked through the door.

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**Well, what do you think? Like it? Don't like it? Either way, review and tell me! I can't make it better if you don't tell me what's wrong with it.**


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